Poultry News

Bill Gates Donates Chickens to Lift People Out of Poverty

GLOBAL - In the past week, Microsoft founder and billionaire Bill Gates has been speaking out about the benefits of keeping chickens for families living in poverty.

"If I were living in extreme poverty, I’d want to raise chickens," Mr Gates said in a Twitter post.

On his blog, he explained that chickens are easy and inexpensive to raise, as they can live on what they can find on the ground if need be. In addition, eggs not sold can be fed to the family to improve nutrition.

He also highlighted chickens as a good investment: "Suppose a new farmer starts with five hens. One of her neighbours owns a rooster to fertilise the hens’ eggs.

"After three months, she can have a flock of 40 chicks. Eventually, with a sale price of $5 per chicken - which is typical in West Africa - she can earn more than $1,000 a year, versus the extreme-poverty line of about $700 a year."

Partnering with charity Heifer International, Mr Gates donated more than 100,000 chickens to people living in poverty around the world.